Mohawk Industries to buy Marazzi Group

[Calhoun, Ga] Mohawk Industries will acquire Italian ceramic tile maker Marazzi Group for $1.5 billion in an effort to grow its position in the United States, Russia and Europe, the company announced.

Mohawk said the acquisition should be complete during the first quarter of 2013 pending closing and regulatory approvals.

Marazzi Group, which distributes tile in more than 100 countries, had revenue of about $1.16 billion in 2011. The Marazzi family owns 51 percent of the group, and the rest is held by private equity funds Permira and Private Equity Partners.

Worldwide consumption of ceramic tile is estimated to be more than 110 billion square feet, growing at 5 to 6 percent annually, Mohawk said.

“This acquisition represents the next step in the expansion of Mohawk’s global business and will make Mohawk a stronger company,” said Jeff Lorberbaum, Mohawk’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We found Marrazi attractive because of its solid management team and leadership positions in the U.S., Russia and Europe. The combination of Mohawk and Marazzi creates opportunities to expand U.S. distribution through service centers and other channels, source ceramic from our worldwide assets, utilize our relationships to expand all product categories and deploy leading innovation and design trends to all of our ceramic businesses around the globe."